gett’in grammar
Jul 1st, 2008 by Michael Max
My first clue came in Taiwan when I was teaching English.
I’d approach the grammar portion of the lesson with fear and trepidation. Give myself a glancing review of subordinate clauses, predicate adjectives and past perfect participles. Relying as much on my students inability to understand English, as my own well honed skills in extemporaneous speaking and sleigh of hand in changing the subject.
The only thing that really qualified me to teach English in Asia was my American accent and white skin. That and the willingness to trade the sounds of English for the local currency. Most of my students would never go deeply into English grammar. For them, it was enough just to open and their mouths and attempt to string together a few words, or learn a bit of slang, figure out how to hold their own in a job interview, or simply please the parents who were paying for their lessons.
I never learned grammar, the same way I never learned English. It was just the soup in which I swam. So long as I could communicate and write well enough I figured I was on solid ground.
Then I started translating “The Ten Major Formula Families in Chinese Medicine.” That is when I found that that commas and periods go inside of the quote marks, that there are rules and agreements of grammar that may not be casually ignored. For the first time grammar, and the proper use thereof, became important. And it was way way too late to return my high school English class and bone up on the nuts and bolts of how to parse the English language.
As they like to say in Chinese 失敗是成功之母, defeat is the mother of success. Luckily a writer friend of mine recently confided her own struggles with truly understanding how we structure our language. So it was off to Barnes and Noble. For her, a 5th grammar workbook and for me, The Mountain Man’s Field Guide to Grammar.
That darned book actually makes the rules of grammar both frisky and fun.
The Mountain Man’s Field Guide to Grammar – such a title! Leaves me with the image of a man dressed in old rugged garb, baggy jacket and crumpled hat leaning on the bar in an old tavern with swinging doors, large mirror behind the bar while he’s spitting out “verbs”, “adjectives”, and “pronouns” in the direction of the spittoon at his feet.
Maybe we could use his book for the boys in 5th grade?
Yes, he does a fine job of taming those wily noun phrases, and putting unruly adverbs in their proper place. It is the most fun I’ve had with grammar since playing word drinking games in college.
Love the sign up top Michael.
One of my favourite things in China, was taking pictures of the great signs and posters. Too bad they are trying to fix ‘em for the olympics.
Well, that one came from Taiwan, and in Taiwan, they have several “versions” of something like pinyin.
My first apartment was on Yong Kang Street. I thought it rather prophetic as I was there to study medicine.
Of course, in addition to the signs in Taiwan there is the stationary http://www.yongkangclinic.com/blog/?p=304 that is stuff enlightenment is made from!
Michael – it’s always a pleasure reading your blog. Thanks.
I had no idea that grammer might be the subject of the next book I read. Actually it won’t be the next one I read because I have one on Enzymes lined up next and I just ordered Donna Eden’s two new books – the 10th anniversary edition of her classic “Energy Medicine” and her latest book, “Energy Medicine for Woman.” I’ll take look at the grammer book though especially since you said it’s at Barnes and Noble.
Take care,
Dennis
Well, interestingly enough there are things in life, like grammar, that I thought I could do without. Well, do without studying very deeply. But, life often does have some twists and turns that give us an opportunity to claim something we laid down long ago.
Oddly enough, I’ve rather enjoyed learning the proper uses of “which” and “that”, and how to properly punctuate a sentence; it is kind of a geeky thing, but then I’ve always rather enjoyed the geeky things!